MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

With regard to the sequester, we do not really know yet what the financial impact will be for the Cancer Center, nor for individual grants. Our CCSG scored as well as any this year, so we should be hit less, but until we have a notice of award we are in the dark.

We will start April operating at 50% budget. Our administration will identify the specific impact this will have on cores and salary support, and we will be establishing a budget based on these projections. However, until there is a notice of award, we will not know specifics.

Provocative Questions

Please note that the NCI has REISSUED eight RFAs on the provocative questions. These RFAs are viewed as a priority by Harold Varmus, so there is a relatively favorable pay line. In the first round, only 200 applications were submitted. Please refer to the provocative questions site and consider an R01 or R21 application for the June 20 submission deadline.

In addition, note the emphasis on big, outstanding questions in cancer. As your own research moves forward, this is the time to think of assessing key questions of impact rather than subtle questions in your research pathway.

Notes from the NCI Cancer Center Directors Annual Retreat

Last month's cancer center director annual retreat with Harold Varmus centered around the next generation of the The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). While this program will end in a year, there is interest in additional samples. More importantly, there will be an upgrade in data availability. Our contact here, Dr. Jill Barnholtz-Sloan, can provide a primer on utilizing this database for genomic analysis. The collection of full genomics of most tumor types is without equal and can be used to mine many ideas linking genomic changes to pathophysiology.

Update on the Cancer Center Faculty Search

The Cancer Center continues to expand, and recruitment is an important aspect of broadening our collaborative efforts and research focus. As part of our strategic plan, we are focusing on these two areas. Dr. Li Li is leading the search for an expert in cancer disparities research at the associate or full professor level. Dr. Ruth Keri is leading the search in cancer biology and cancer genetics. Please contact them with names of individuals you think would be interested.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Cleveland Magazine: Best Doctors

Congratulations to the many Cancer Center members who were rated by their peers as the "Best Doctors" in Northeast Ohio in the March 2013 issue of Cleveland Magazine. A full list of names by specialty is available in the print version of the issue. In addition, this year the magazine focused on cancer, and featured extended articles on the following members:

Delivering the NewsDr. Timothy O'Brien is the director of the MetroHealth Cancer Care Center and chief of the division of hematology and oncology. His diagnoses typically reveal gastrointestinal or blood cancers in adults...

Three Questions with Cancer Experts:Dr. Charles Kunos first discovered he had a knack for anatomy during a seventh-grade science contest, but he never knew he'd one day be using that talent to target individual cancer cells hidden deep inside people's bodies...

Most doctors juggle more than medical charts. Just ask Dr. Stanton Gerson, the director of the University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center...

Dr. Lyndsay Harris, director of breast cancer research at University Hospitals Seidman Center, says studying the genetic sequencing of a person's tumor can result in more effective, personalized treatment plans...

Trial BlazersAn international phase III clinical trial led by Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute staff oncologist Dr. Brian Rini is working to determine whether a vaccine created by a German biotech firm can prolong the lives of advanced kidney-cancer patients already taking Sutent, the standard therapy drug. ...

A treatment option for patients who can't find a bone marrow donor, this new trial designed by Dr. Marcos de Lima, the head of stem-cell transplantation at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, uses a unit of uncultured cord blood and one of cord blood cultured to increase the stem cells...

The dreaded colon-cancer screening could become a lot less intimidating if Dr. Greg Cooper's stool DNA analysis method proves accurate...

New DimensionsArmed with detailed 3-D mammograms, University Hospitals'Dr. Donna Plecha is taking the breast cancer fight to the next level...

Mind GamesCleveland Clinic's Dr. Michael Vogelbaum has found a way to treat malignant brain tumors with a promising new gene therapy. ...

Breaking the CodeDr. Charis Eng searches for the genetic markers that indicate the cancer risks hidden within us all. ...

Case CCC Protocol Templates Now Required

We have had a great success with our year-long run-in period of using Case CCC protocol templates for investigator-initiated studies. Effective immediately, Case CCC protocol templates are mandatory when developing investigator-initiated protocols, and must contain all protocol template elements and language. These requirements will be enforced by the Case CCC Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee at the time of protocol submission and review. In the event that one or more elements of a trial do not fit into the template (e.g., a surgical trial or Phase 0 trial), the protocol should still retain the section(s) with a "Not Applicable" entered.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES/AWARDS

Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Gastrointestinal Malignancies (GI SPORE)

All Faculty members are invited to submit outlines for pilot projects to be funded by the NIH P50 GI SPORE. Proposals must be submitted through CTSC Webgrants. Please note that a SPORE project must be directed toward translational research of a GI malignancy. At least one specific aim should involve either direct patient contact or the study of patient derived tissue samples.

This program is designed to prepare trainees for careers as independent investigators engaged in research at the intersection of cancer research, genetics, epidemiology, biostatistics and computer science. Cancer researchers obtaining training will have the skills vital to decipher the complex pathways comprising genetic and environmental risk factors for disease, and will ultimately be able to provide clinicians and their patients with valuable information for the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Candidates with an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD degree, strong quantitative skills, and an interest in a career in genetics research are encouraged to apply.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Breast Cancer Program in Development Annual Retreat

Drs. William Schiemann and Lyndsay Harris, Co-Leaders of the Breast Cancer Program in Development, invite you to attend the program Annual Retreat on Monday, March 11from 9 am-5:30 pm in the Dively Building on CWRU campus. The agenda is available on the Cancer Center website. Register today.

Melanoma Mini-Symposium

The Cleveland Melanoma Research Consortium, a new collaboration among basic researchers and clinicians at CWRU, UH, Cleveland Clinic, and VA Medical Center, is pleased to announce a mini-symposium devoted to melanoma research on Monday, March 11 from 3-7 pm in the Wolstein Research Building Auditorium.

This mini-symposium will provide a forum for physician scientists and biomedical researchers to foster communication and develop new collaborations on melanoma research. Research presentations will be organized around the following topics: Therapeutics/Drug Discovery, Cell Signaling and Environmental Effects, Immunology, and Epidemiology. Anyone in the Cancer Center community with an interest in melanoma research is encouraged to participate.

This event is sponsored by the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Skin Disease Research Center, and Department of Dermatology at Case Western Reserve University. A box meal will be provided. Please RSVP by Wednesday, March 6. The agenda is available on the Cancer Center website.